This invention relates to hot water heaters. More specifically, the present invention relates to a control system which controls the operation of the water heater.
During the heating cycle in a typical storage type hot water heater hot water tends to rise to the top and cold water settles on the bottom of the storage tank of the heater. The amount of difference in temperature between the top of the tank and the bottom is affected by many parameters including placement of the thermostat temperature monitoring probe, BTUs size of the heater, material selection for the tank, combustion compartment, the rate and frequency of water usage and others. This difference in temperature between the top of the tank and bottom is commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cstacking.xe2x80x9d
In order to prevent excessively hot water at the top of the tank it would be ideal to place the thermostat temperature monitoring probe in the very top of the tank. However, by placing the probe in this location the capacity (gallons of hot water available per hour) is reduced because the heater turns off before water in the lower portion of the tank has been warmed. To gain the most capacity, the thermostat-temperature monitoring probe would be placed near the bottom of the tank. However, this allows excessively hot water to stratify at the top of the tank.
Traditionally, the thermostat-temperature monitoring probe used is essentially an electrical switch. An expandable fluid is contained within the probe and is associated with appropriate electrical contacts. As water is heated, the fluid within the probe expands thus opening the electrical contacts. This switch is typically connected directly to the heating system. Consequently, opening of this switch simply results in the turning off of the heating element. This type of switching mechanism is very typical for most thermostatic/heating devices.
In current hot water storage tank heaters a significant amount of development is spent in identifying the exact location to place the probe that will trade off capacity against the maximum water temperature under worse case stacking conditions. One of the solutions has been to use two probes which average the temperature near the top of the tank with the temperature at a lower location thus providing a better trade off in maximum temperature against capacity. All of the solutions are geared at passing the American National Standards Institute test for stacking found in ANSI Z21.10.1 and ANSI Z21.10.3. These solutions are not accurate, trade off capacity against the maximum temperature, and do not react to stacking at rates and temperatures different than found in the ANSI Standards.
As these ANSI Standards recognize, the phenomena of stacking is most prominent in conditions where the hot water supply is cycled on and off frequently. That is, stacking is encountered in situations where the hot water is drawn to a point where the heating source is required to turn on, and then the water is turned off shortly thereafter. In this situation, a substantial amount of heated water already exists in the tank. Applying further heat or additional energy to the tank at this point magnifies the stacking problem by further raising the temperature of water contained in the upper portion of the tank.
As can be appreciated, continuous cycling over long periods of time can create further unwanted stacking, as outlined above.
The result of the aforementioned inadequacies is excessively hot water during some usage cycles, inadequate hot water during other usage cycles and the need for storage tank heaters larger than required. This also results in excessive cost to the consumer, to compensate for the sensor location compromises previously discussed.
This invention seeks to minimize the disadvantages of the known systems.
According to the invention, there is provided a control system for a hot water heater which includes a reservoir for containing hot water, a cold water feed for the reservoir, a hot water exit for the reservoir and a system for supplying energy to heat water in the reservoir.
A temperature monitoring probe is associated with the reservoir for monitoring the temperature of the water therein. Temperature is continually monitored to determine information about the frequency of water removal from the reservoir. Specifically, temperature pattern can suggest how frequently water is being removed from the reservoir. This information regarding the temperature patterns of the water, and the related frequency of water removal are used to control the operation of the energy system for supplying heat to the reservoir which reduces stacking. The frequency of water usage can also be determined by directly monitoring the flow of water from the reservoir, or the pressure of water in the reservoir.
A microprocessor based control is attached to the temperature monitoring probe to carry out the thermostat function. In addition to other functions, the microprocessor provides signals which will turn the heating source on or off under the right conditions. As is typical, when the microprocessor based control recognizes that the temperature monitoring probe temperature is below a desired level, the heating system is activated to provide heat to water in the tank. Additionally, by having the temperature monitoring probe attached to a microprocessor, trends and patterns in the heating process can be monitored. More specifically, the microprocessor can monitor the period of time between consecutive calls for heat. By this monitoring, the microprocessor can keep track of water conditions in the reservoir.
A temperature control set point for the heating control is selectively depressed in response to the water use patterns in the reservoir. Selectively depressing the temperature control set point is used to compensate for the difference in temperature between the top of a water reservoir and the bottom of a water reservoir. The set point of the temperature control of the thermostat is returned to a higher level when the frequency of water extraction from the reservoir decreases.
The microprocessor is further preprogrammed to permit a predetermined amount of control temperature set point depression relative to the frequency of usage. The programming of the microprocessor on a custom basis is possible for different respective reservoir installations. That is, the basic control algorithm in the microprocessor can be customized for each model of reservoir that is used. The setting is determined according to specific usage patterns which effect each particular reservoir. The preset is activated when the temperature control is set to the maximum or selectively at any predetermined set point.
The microprocessor is programmable so that depressing the temperature for a different predetermined number of degrees at a preselected time interval is possible. The amount of depression may be at least one of cumulative amounts or preset amounts. The timing and the amount of temperature increments to return to an original setting is selectable.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which makes reference to several drawing figures.